Strength
by Immi
Summary: Whether it grew from a need for vengeance, or from deciding to run from something, strength is still strength. *Ficlets*
1. Kotarou

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, including the summary. That comes from chapter 73.

AN: So this is the start of a series of shorts that I'm almost positive won't be updated very regularly. I'd like to say that each member of the cast will get a chapter, but odds are that most of them will be neglected because I'm not too confident in my ability to write them convincingly. I do know that Kotarou, Negi, and Setsuna will have multiple chapters though... that doesn't really make up for it, but whatever.

Anyway, this particular chapter takes place sometime before the start of the series. Try to enjoy.

* * *

Rain splashed Kotarou's face as he stared up at the sky, his eyes completely out of focus.

All of him hurt.

What had he been thinking, trying to steal food from _demons?_ It didn't matter how hungry he was or how tempting their fire looked, it would always be a stupid idea. Humans were better targets; mundanes didn't watch as closely. Or hit as hard. The worst he'd ever gotten from one of them was a few bruises that didn't even last a day. These… he didn't think he'd last long enough for them to heal.

Dazedly, he tried to look up at his opponent. The gigantic demon was grinning down at him, sharp teeth dripping with rainwater. It looked more like a wild animal than a true demon. It reached down, claws ready to tear into flesh.

Kotarou couldn't move. Everything hurt too badly to even think about moving.

It didn't usually hurt like this, did it?

…Had fighting always been this hard?

The demon's claws dug into Kotarou's scalp as it lifted the unfortunate child into the air. Something warm trickled down the back of the boy's neck. Rain wasn't that warm.

Feebly, Kotarou tried kicking out at his captor. It didn't work very well. His foot couldn't even reach the demon's chest. His legs were too weak. Some of the earlier pain was starting to fade, but as much as he hated to admit it, there was nothing left of him. The demon had pretty much destroyed his body. He almost wished that his opponent would just get it over with. It'd had its fun, hadn't it? What the hell was the point of continuing this?

"Hey, give it a rest, would ya? I think the brat's learned his lesson. Besides, he's not even worth killing."

Kotarou felt his slowing heart skip a beat.

The demon looked back at the fire pit its partner was sitting next to. Then it glanced at its victim's lifeless body and huffed in irritation. "Yeah, yeah, all right." It smirked, teeth glinting in the firelight, and patted Kotarou's cheek lightly. The boy barely felt it. Something was burning in his veins. It blocked out his other senses. "Now you run along and be good, kiddo. No more stealing from the big boys."

Kotarou's tormentor flung the half-demon into the ground, sending him skidding into a puddle. Kotarou lay there, silently watching the other demon by the fire. His opponent's partner hadn't bothered looking at him even once after the first time he was thrown to the ground.

And now… now even the giant of a demon was ignoring him and walking back to the fire. Like he really was nothing.

Who the hell did they think they were?

Kotarou was dimly aware of his fists curling, squelching mud into his palms. Shivering from the cold and the strain it put on his muscles, he pushed his body as far off the wet ground as he could.

"Hey," he choked out, coming close to coughing up his lungs. The two demons didn't react. Groaning, he forced his legs to start supporting some of his weight. His limbs felt like they were on fire. Even the chill of the rain wasn't enough to cool them down.

But that didn't matter. Not now. Not when the jerk he was fighting thought that it was okay to just walk away while he was still conscious. Fights weren't supposed to end like that. And this one… his body ached with the reminder of how casually the demon had thrown him around.

There was no way in hell this fight was over.

With a burst of effort that had his legs screaming, Kotarou stood up, panting heavily and glaring at his opponent.

"HEY!"

The demon turned to look at him. Kotarou swayed on his feet, blinking stars out of his eyes furiously. "Don't—don't you _dare_ look away. This fight's just getting started."


	2. Eishun

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

AN: I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, since Konoka-related flashbacks have never flashbacked this far in the manga, and I'd like to at least say that fitting these ficlets into canon wouldn't require much imagination. Oh well... at worst I'll eventually have to label this AU I guess. Meh. Anyways, enjoy. Or just try to. Either would be appreciated.

* * *

Eishun stared down at the little hand clutching to his shirt. Konoka had been asleep for hours now, but she still refused to let go of him. Whenever he tried to put her down, she would start twisting in his arms and whimpering. He sighed, running his hand through her hair. It seemed like he'd be sleeping in her room tonight.

Really, it was something he should have expected. She hadn't said a word all day and she'd had herself wrapped around his leg for the entire funeral. Even her grandfather hadn't been able to pull her away. It was a perfectly understandable reaction, but it had still managed to surprise Eishun.

Konoka had never… _needed_ him like this. Not once. Even when she was a baby, she'd been perfectly content with just her mother's company. It was only now, with her gone, that Konoka was reaching out to him.

Eishun shifted his grip on his daughter. It spoke volumes about his parenting, he noted, that he was so unused to holding his own child.

He'd get used to it, though. No matter what else happened, he would make sure that Konoka would never be deprived of love. He knew he could never replace his wife, but he could at least step in as a proper parent.

He shook his head, carefully keeping the rest of his body still. A proper parent. Thinking of that role being belonging to him still felt odd. Being a part of a family… nothing in his training had covered that. And as well as the arranged marriage had turned out, he'd thought many, many times that it would've been better if he and his wife had met as normal people, not marriage candidates. Then they would have been allowed to move at their own pace. As it was… by the time Konoka was born, he was still getting used to being a husband.

And when—Konoka had just been so happy with her mother's company, and there was so much to do. Even without Nagi showing up every once in a while and dragging him off to involve him in any number of problematic situations, Eishun could have easily kept himself busier than he'd ever desired to be. Being a good father had taken a backseat to his duties.

The few times Eishun had bothered thinking about it (guiltily), he'd told himself that he'd have time. He would have time, and eventually, he'd figure out how to be a part of his family.

He'd never imagined that he didn't actually have that time. Despite all of the enemies they had in the worlds, he'd never once considered that one of them would actually be able to do anything to his family. And now one had, and all he could think was that there was something cruel and wrong in this world for that to have happened.

Unfortunately, it made an overwhelming amount of sense. At least a handful of the past Konoe heirs had been assassinated because of their magical power. No organization wanted to risk the chance of having an incredible force like that one day go against them. Eliminating the mage was the simplest way to maintain balance.

Eishun sighed softly. Magical power. That was why part of his family was now gone. She'd simply been too powerful for anyone to feel comfortable trusting in her good heart.

Two traits that, unless he was mistaken, had been passed on to their daughter. Thinking about it now filled him with a cold fear that he recognized from the few battles he'd been in where he'd felt absolutely positive that he was about to die.

He couldn't lose Konoka. No matter how poor his parenting skills were, he loved her, and no matter what, he would protect her. Somehow, he'd find a way to protect her from the burdens that came with power like hers.

"Daddy?"

Eishun jerked abruptly out of his internal musings and looked down at the barely awake child in his arms. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes, Konoka?"

The small girl frowned drowsily and reached her hands up to touch his face. She tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to pull them up.

"You should smile. Mommy doesn't like us sad."

He felt her use of present tense break his heart, but all the same, he forced himself to smile down at his only child.

"You're right, Konoka. She liked seeing us smile."

The sweet little girl smiled shyly at his response and curled deeper into his chest, going back to sleep. Eishun kissed her forehead and tightened his grip on her.

_Somehow… I'll keep you safe. I promise._


	3. Negi

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: Takes place during chapter 66.

* * *

It was his fault.

It was_ all his fault._

If he hadn't caused so much trouble…

He hadn't wanted anything like this to happen.

All he'd wanted… all he wanted was to see his father. And now… everyone was…

No! Not everyone! Nekane… Nekane-oneechan was still here! Her-her legs were gone now, but she wasn't stone like everyone else!

But… that man was there. The man who had destroyed all of those monsters… he was still here too. There was just the three of them left.

…That man was scary. He… he could hurt Nekane-oneechan like he hurt all the monsters. Even the monsters had been afraid of the man.

But…

Negi picked up his wand and pointed it at the man shakily. He wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt because of him.


End file.
